The RV shot out of the gas station, tires skidding over broken glass and spilled fuel.
Behind them, the mutated tree released another terrible groan. Its roots thrashed, knocking over a pump.
For one heartbeat, Tang Li Yue saw sparks. Then Lu Chengran turned sharply onto the main road.
What followed was flash that lit the rear window almost blindingly.
BOOM!
The explosion swallowed the gas station in a raging fire.
Tang Li Yue twisted in her seat, staring at the blooming orange flames reflected in her eyes.
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then she whispered, mournful and furious, "My gasoline."
Lu Chengran kept driving, ignoring her theatrics.
"It may have killed the tree."
"Hmmph, if it did, then good. If it didn't, I hope it suffers." Tang Li Yue answered in resentment.
"That seems personal."
"It became personal when it tried to kill me and touched my fuel."
The mutated chihuahua barked from the back.
Tang Li Yue pointed at it without looking. "You don't get an opinion. You got thrown by a tree."
It whined.
Sir Edmund made a soft sound that felt suspiciously smug.
The RV sped away from the burning station and finally entered the city premises.
If the rural roads had been wounded, the city was bleeding out.
Buildings stood with shattered windows. Smoke curled between high-rises. Some traffic lights still worked, blinking uselessly over intersections clogged with vehicles and corpses.
Storefronts had been smashed open, and goods were scattered across sidewalks where people had fought over them only hours ago.
The groans were everywhere.
Some felt distant, some close. It was like a layer of gloomy music.
It felt as though the city itself had learned to breathe death.
Tang Li Yue stared at the familiar streets from Li Yue's memories and felt something heavy settle in her chest.
This place had been alive just days ago.
Too alive, sometimes. Loud, crowded, excessive, and filled with people hurrying toward futures they assumed would still exist tomorrow.
Now the end had arrived with teeth.
Lu Chengran navigated through back roads with alarming familiarity.
"You know the city well," Tang Li Yue said, breaking the silence.
"I've operated here before."
"As a logistics worker?" She asked with a sarcastic smirk.
"Yes."
Tang Li Yue harrumphed, deflated.
"I hope you choke on that lie one day."
He swerved around an abandoned delivery truck. "I'll keep that in mind."
Zombies turned as the RV passed. Some stumbled after them. Others slammed against nearby cars, drawn by the engine. One fell beneath the tires with a heavy crunch that made Tang Li Yue stiffen.
"Do not tell me what that sound was."
"Okay, I won't."
"Good."
She paused.
Then very apprehensively asked, "Was it very disgusting?"
"Yes." Lu Chengran answered coolly.
"Ugh! Why did I ask?"
Lu Chengran's eyes scanned the road ahead.
"The warehouse is in an industrial district near the eastern side. I stored firearms and tactical supplies there."
Tang Li Yue immediately turned to him.
Consciously choosing to ignore the dubious fact that an ordinary logistic worker will never have access to such things.
Anyhow, they have long established an implicit agreement about such topics.
"Firearms?"
"Yes."
"The thunder weapons?"
He glanced at her. "Thunder weapons?"
"Yeah. The ones that go bang."
Despite everything, his mouth twitched. "Yes. Those."
Tang Li Yue's mood brightened by at least three shades.
Back in the Central Plains, hidden weapons were elegant, efficient, and artful. A good needle could silence a man before he even realized death had arrived.
But this world's firearms? She had seen them in Li Yue's memories.
They may be crude in form and a little loud, but they were powerful.
It required no spiritual qi or years of training to make noise and holes.
Truly, modern civilization had its moments of glory.
"Excellent. We should get many." Tang Li Yue said, giddy at the thought.
"That is the plan."
"And your men?" She followed up curiously.
"We agreed to regroup there if communication failed."
Tang Li Yue studied him.
"How many?"
"It's hard to say."
She pouted, "That is not an answer."
"It is the only one I can give you."
For once, his voice held something colder beneath the calm.
Tang Li Yue noticed and very smartly decided not pry.
At least not yet.
Even she knew when a question would cut too close.
The industrial district came into view after nearly an hour of slow, careful driving.
Large warehouses lined the roads, their steel gates closed or broken open. Trucks sat abandoned in loading bays. A crane loomed over the area like the skeleton of some giant beast.
And zombies filled the streets.
Dozens upon dozens wandered near the intersection leading to the warehouse Lu Chengran indicated. Some wore factory uniforms. Others were delivery drivers, security guards, civilians, even men in tactical clothing.
Tang Li Yue's gaze sharpened at the latter. An inkling forming in her mind.
Lu Chengran slowed the RV.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
The warehouse they needed to got to was visible beyond the crowd. It was a low, reinforced building with a wide rolling gate and a side entrance partially obscured by two overturned vans.
Accessing it directly was impossible.
The road was clogged with zombies.
Too many to simply ram through without risking the RV getting stuck.
Tang Li Yue exhaled slowly.
"Well," she said, "this is slightly inconvenient."
Lu Chengran parked behind a row of trucks, cutting the engine.
The sudden silence felt heavier than the noise.
The zombies ahead drifted aimlessly, but several had already turned in their direction, reacting to the engine's fading sound.
Tang Li Yue reached for her bat almost instinctively.
Lu Chengran caught her wrist before she opened the door.
She glared at him., "What now?"
"Your hand." He stated, gesturing to her.
She looked down. The scrape had stopped bleeding, but the skin remained torn.
Tang Li Yue understood.
Her expression soured.
"I am not made of leaking wine jars," she protested.
"You bleed when injured."
"Most people do, Lu Chengran."
"Most people's blood doesn't resurrect zombie dogs."
Behind them, the chihuahua barked as if agreeing.
Tang Li Yue turned and hissed, "Do not sound proud."
Lu Chengran pulled out a first-aid kit and wrapped her palm with quick, efficient motions.
Tang Li Yue watched him.
His touch was firm but careful. She even felt like he was too careful.
It made Tang Li Yue feel strange, which was unacceptable, so she frowned instead.
"You are very bossy for a man who owes me two lives."
He remained focused on his task but answered nonetheless, "Then you can consider this as my repayment."
"What? Wrapping my hand?" She asked sarcastically.
"Keeping you alive long enough to complain about it."
She paused.
Then huffed. "I can keep myself alive, thank you very much. But fine, that was almost clever. I guess I could barely accept that."
"I'll try harder next time."
"Don't waste your effort. I dislike smug men."
"I noticed."
"No, you didn't."
"I did."
Tang Li Yue clicked her tongue and snatched her hand back once he finished. The bandage was neat, annoyingly so.
They stepped out of the RV.
The chihuahua followed first, because apparently it had learned nothing from being slapped by a mutant tree.
Sir Edmund stayed inside, seated on the dashboard like an emperor observing battlefield sacrifices.
"Your Grace," Tang Li Yue said through the window, "do not unlock anything while I'm gone."
Sir Edmund blinked. Tang Li Yue found this very suspicious.
Lu Chengran checked the shotgun and the small amount of ammunition left from the gas station thugs. "We will need to conserve shots. Gunfire will attract more."
Tang Li Yue nodded. "I have quieter methods in mind."
His eyes shifted to her sleeves.
She smiled sweetly, her tone turning saccharine along with it.
"What? Are you going to observe again?"
"Yes." He answered without a beat of hesitation.
Tang Li Yue scoffed, "At least you admit it now."
They started to move.
The first group of zombies came from the side of a truck. Lu Chengran met them head-on, striking with the ever-reliable, mostly bent crowbar in clean, brutal arcs. Tang Li Yue circled to his flank, barbed bat swinging only when needed.
She hated the mess. Absolutely hated it.
Every crack of skull produced sounds that made her want to scrub her ears with disinfectant. Every splatter threatened her mental stability. But her movements grew steadier as they fought. Her moves awkwardly adjusted to match her current level of strength.
One zombie lunged toward Lu Chengran's side.
Tang Li Yue flicked her wrist and a needle sank into its eye. It fell forward, and Lu Chengran crushed its head before it could rise again.
They did not speak. They did not need to.
For a pair of people who had known each other for a ridiculously small amount of time, they moved together surprisingly well. A tacit understanding of some sort.
He was the shield.
She was the sting.
The chihuahua, unfortunately, was the chaos.
It darted between zombies, biting ankles, tearing tendons, and sending undead bodies stumbling into each other.
It was grotesque. But it was also useful. That much was true.
Tang Li Yue hated that most of all.
"Do not make me appreciate you!" she snapped at it after it dragged a zombie away from her leg.
The chihuahua barked happily.
"Ugh."
They cleared the first cluster, then the second.
More zombies began drifting toward the noise. Tang Li Yue felt they were endless.
Lu Chengran glanced toward the warehouse entrance. "We need to open a path fast."
Tang Li Yue's breathing had grown heavier. Her body was better than before, but still far from what she once possessed. Every swing burned through stamina she could not afford to waste.
She missed her spiritual qi. She missed her daggers.
She missed being able to kill from ten steps away without getting corpse residue near her shoes.
"Fine," she muttered. She couldn't take it anymore, anyway.
I guess showing off a bit wouldn't hurt.
She reached into her sleeve and drew out a handful of needles. Lu Chengran noticed this.
Tang Li Yue sighed. "Don't look too impressed."
"I wasn't."
"Yes, you were."
"I was only concerned."
"That is way worse."
She flicked her wrist.
The needles scattered like silver rain. It looked as beautiful as it was deadly. Three zombies collapsed almost at once, struck through the eyes and temples.
Two more staggered, joints locking from poison even though their dead bodies barely understood paralysis.
Lu Chengran moved through the opening without hesitation.
He admired the efficiency but saying that would just make a certain woman smug.
Tang Li Yue followed, clicking her tongue.
"If I had my proper hidden weapons, this would be over already."
"What are those?"
"Expensive things you don't know about."
"That tells me nothing."
"It tells you enough."
He gave her a brief look. Tang Li Yue smirked at him.
Using his own annoying answers against him was deeply satisfying.
They pushed closer to the warehouse gate. The exact entrance, however, was worse than expected.
A cluster of zombies crowded near the side door, pressing against it as if something inside had drawn them there. Some clawed weakly at the metal.
Others stood still, heads tilted, listening.
Lu Chengran's expression changed.
Tang Li Yue saw it. In fact, she knew even before then. Zombies were attracted to the scent of life, something they had already lost.
The more people, the more attractive it is to the undead. Like a piece of juicy steak dangling towards starving wolves.
"Your men?" She asked perfunctorily. The answer was obvious.
"Possibly."
A muffled thud came from inside the warehouse.
It wasn't zombie movement. They were humans.
Lu Chengran's gaze sharpened.
Tang Li Yue rolled her shoulders, gripping her bat despite the ache in her arms.
"Then we should clear these guys out."
He looked at her, questioning.
She raised her brow. "What? You thought I would suggest leaving?"
"No." He denied, though the person listening remained utterly unconvinced.
"Good. Because if there are living people inside and they are useful, we should collect them."
Lu Chengran frowned, "Collect them?"
Tang Li Yue nodded, a bit too eager.
"Survivors. Supplies. Weapons. The apocalypse is all about acquisition."
For a second, despite the wall of zombies ahead, Lu Chengran almost smiled.
Then the nearest zombie, fully sensing their presence, turned toward them and let out a low, hungry groan.
The others followed, one by one. Dozens of dead faces shifted in their direction.
Tang Li Yue exhaled, resisting the urge to wash her eyes. She wanted to turn her eyes on Lu Chengran's direction but ultimately didn't.
"Wonderful. The welcoming committee noticed us."
Lu Chengran lifted the bent crowbar.
The chihuahua lowered its body and growled.
Behind them, more zombies shuffled into the street, drawn from surrounding alleys by the earlier noise.
Ahead, the warehouse door thudded again from the inside.
Tang Li Yue tightened the bandage around her palm with her teeth, eyes cold.
Her blood must not spill. Her pitiful strength must not fail this time or it will be very embarrassing.
And most importantly, she would not die in an industrial district before seeing what kind of thunder weapons Lu Chengran had hidden away.
"Well then," she said, gaze sharpening.
"Let's clean the entrance."
This time, Lu Chengran did smile. It was faint, barely a breath. Tang Li Yue remained largely unaware, of course.
Then they moved together into the undead crowd.